Thursday, June 10, 2010

Mom, Loic and I just got home from Powell River where we spent two nights. Loic decided not to sleep for a few hours each night which was Not Fun. Before we left, Jody and I painted a wall in the house and packed for one whole day (thanks Jody!). Rob did a lot of packing while we were in PR.

Tonight (Thursday) I sold our table and chairs and the house is very empty. Rob and I are currently sitting on dog beds in the living room :) Toby is happy with that! I am at my BCIT course all day tomorrow and will be at BC/Yukon Regionals with Tyler all weekend...wish us luck! The baby will be with me for the mornings and Rob will pick him up at lunchtime. Ironically, I will be driving to and from Regionals from N.Van, about 40 minutes further than if we still lived in Maple Ridge!

This is our last night at our little house and I will miss it. I love the trails and people that we have met here and this is where we had Loic (well, at the hospital about three blocks away). I went into labour here and this is where we brought him home from the hospital.

It will be very nice to be living three minutes away from my office when I go back to work in August, and Rob is really, really looking forward to not commuting anymore. He has been leaving around 5:30 am (!) so that he could carpool but not anymore!

A big thank you to my folks who are putting us up starting tomorrow until the beginning of July; I think it will go well, as long as Tyler co-operates...

Will post photos of the squid soon, I promise! And haven't posted a recipe because, well, I haven't been cooking!

Friday, June 4, 2010

...is due to the packing frenzy going on at our house right now. That, combined with the BCIT course I am in plus the homework (the class is very interesting by the way) plus keeping the squid and the dogs entertained leads to some very busy days!

We went to the Aquarium this week to see Jody and to wish her a Happy Birthday, and we have been walking on the dikes with Tracy, Ben and Tyler and Toby's BFF Kootney the ridgeback cross. Toby only had to have two baths this week, I think the culprit was goose poo...

Next week will be chaos - I am heading up to PR on Tuesday, home Wednesday, at the course all day Friday and then, drumroll please, we are heading to Regionals on the weekend. My goal: to qualify with Tyler. We have come close in the past and last year beat our goal of 300 points, but this year we are aiming for 350 and one of those shinny Q ribbons. Wish us luck!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Now that you have made some lovely stock, it is time to use that stock to make some healthy soup!

I take about half of my stock and freeze it and then use half to make a simple veggie and chicken soup.

Put your stock in a pot and add to it the following veggies, diced up into soup sized bites (pretty small pieces):

-one onion

-two carrots

-two stalks of celery

-one pepper (red, yellow or green)

-a head of broccoli

If I have it on hand, I do add in a diced zucchini and sometimes some diced potatoes. Any veggies will do!

Then throw in some bay leaves and some more dried thyme and salt and pepper. At this point I also add in the chicken meat that fell off of the bones while making the stock. You can also add in some more cooked chicken too.

Simmer until the veggies are done and serve over pasta or with a loaf of bread. Yummy.